Automat

Friday, June 22, 2007

FW: The inside-outsider

Dear automat,

I wanted to follow up on Tom's email from Tuesday.

As you probably know, we've got a big job here. Right now it's up to us -- not the 2008 Democratic candidates -- to take on Fred Thompson, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and the rest of the Republican presidential hopefuls. And that's why we need your help.

Last year, the 50-state strategy put organizers on the ground across the country to stand up to the lies and failures of the GOP. Those organizers were the key to our unprecedented victories up and down the ballot in 2006.

Unlike many campaigns, our organizers still had a job when the election was over -- thanks to contributions from Democrats like you. That sort of support is crucial to build a party that will fight in every state for many elections to come, and that support is what allows us to continue to have organizers working in your state today.

Just yesterday in Iowa, a DNC-funded organizer was on the ground distributing facts to reporters after a big speech by Rudy Giuliani. If we don't continue to organize and research now, Election Day 2008 could be one that we'd rather forget.

November 2008 may seem like a long time from now, but Democrats aren't waiting to take our country back.

Sincerely,

Gov. Howard Dean, M.D.

P.S: If you didn't get a chance to read about the real Fred Thompson, check out the email Tom sent a few days ago.

From: Tom McMahon

Subject: The inside-outsider

Dear Howard,

Remember the Republican culture of corruption? The revolving door of Republican politicians moving in and out of top political offices and Washington D.C. lobbying firms?

That's Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

For years, acting wasn't the Law & Order star's profession -- it was a hobby. In the real world, Thompson has made a fortune in a decades-long career as a Washington lobbyist.

And just this month, as part of his role as the ultimate Washington insider, Thompson offered to host yet another fundraising event for Scooter Libby's legal defense fund. Thompson has been vocal in his support of Libby, saying that he would "absolutely" pardon him.

As he runs for president, he'll try his hardest to hide the truth from the American people. And we need to stop him.

"Although the folksy-sounding Tennessean recently told USA TODAY that he would run an outsider, just as he did while campaigning as a "country lawyer" in a red pickup during his 1994 U.S. Senate race, his résumé is that of a longtime Washington operative who has crossed ideological lines to represent corporate and foreign clients."

In his most recent stint in Washington, Thompson worked for a London company lobbying Congress to limit liability claims for asbestos-related illnesses. Over the past three years he's made $760,000 fighting for the interests of his corporate clients.

Now Fred Thompson wants the American people to believe he's the next Ronald Reagan -- a Washington outsider with Hollywood charisma and conservative appeal. But Thompson just plays the role of straight-shooting outsider on TV. In reality, he's as inside as you can get.

He's trying to get to the White House on slick lines and good acting. Help us stop him:

As Fred Thompson tries to go from Washington's K Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, the stakes of his candidacy couldn't be higher. In an interview just last week, for example, he claimed that the Roe v. Wade decision "was fabricated out of whole cloth," and that it was the worst court ruling in the past 40 years.

We need to make sure that in 2008, Fred Thompson goes back to doing his acting on Law & Order -- not in the White House.

While the Democratic presidential candidates hit the campaign trail, we'll be hitting the Republicans. It's our job to tell the American people the facts about opponents like Fred Thompson and to hold them accountable.

We can't finish that job without you. I hope you'll join us.

Sincerely,

Tom McMahon DNC Executive Director

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

The inside-outsider

Remember the Republican culture of corruption? The revolving door of Republican politicians moving in and out of top political offices and Washington D.C. lobbying firms?

That's Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

For years, acting wasn't the Law & Order star's profession -- it was a hobby. In the real world, Thompson has made a fortune in a decades-long career as a Washington lobbyist.

And just this month, as part of his role as the ultimate Washington insider, Thompson offered to host yet another fundraising event for Scooter Libby's legal defense fund. Thompson has been vocal in his support of Libby, saying that he would "absolutely" pardon him.

As he runs for president, he'll try his hardest to hide the truth from the American people. And we need to stop him.

Although the folksy-sounding Tennessean recently told USA TODAY that he would run an outsider, just as he did while campaigning as a "country lawyer" in a red pickup during his 1994 U.S. Senate race, his résumé is that of a longtime Washington operative who has crossed ideological lines to represent corporate and foreign clients.

In his most recent stint in Washington, Thompson worked for a London company lobbying Congress to limit liability claims for asbestos-related illnesses. Over the past three years he's made $760,000 fighting for the interests of his corporate clients.

Now Fred Thompson wants the American people to believe he's the next Ronald Reagan -- a Washington outsider with Hollywood charisma and conservative appeal. But Thompson just plays the role of straight-shooting outsider on TV. In reality, he's as inside as you can get.

He's trying to get to the White House on slick lines and good acting. Help us stop him:

As Fred Thompson tries to go from Washington's K Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, the stakes of his candidacy couldn't be higher. In an interview just last week, for example, he claimed that the Roe v. Wade decision "was fabricated out of whole cloth," and that it was the worst court ruling in the past 40 years.

We need to make sure that in 2008, Fred Thompson goes back to doing his acting on Law & Order -- not in the White House.

While the Democratic presidential candidates hit the campaign trail, we'll be hitting the Republicans. It's our job to tell the American people the facts about opponents like Fred Thompson and to hold them accountable.

We can't finish that job without you. I hope you'll join us.

Sincerely,

Tom McMahon DNC Executive Director

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Rapid Response, 2.0

We're working full-time to make sure we don't let the Republican candidates and their allies get away with anything.

Fortunately, thanks to our crack research team, we have all the information we need to make that happen -- all the speeches, transcripts, video footage, and voting records.

But we need your help -- we need you to help us watch them and hold them accountable for their actions. That's why we're asking you to be part of an online rapid response operation for the 2008 presidential race.

This special PartyBuilder group will help serve as the eyes and ears of the Democratic Party during the campaign and will allow us to get you information on the 2008 Republican candidates as it breaks.

Can you be part of our rapid response team, and help make (or break) the presidential race in 2008?

As a member of the PartyBuilder rapid response group, we'll send you important information about the 2008 Republican presidential candidates -- when they mislead voters, completely change positions on the issues, or pander to special interests. Then, you can help get the word out to your friends, family and neighbors.

You can also contribute to the research effort by fact-checking their statements, studying their records, and watching for campaign gaffes.

This is a group effort, and this work is essential for showing the American public the true nature of the Republican candidates. No matter how hard they try, they just can't hide how extreme they really are.

As George Bush's presidency proved, the stakes of a presidential election couldn't be higher. Do your part by joining the PartyBuilder rapid response group:

Rapid response can make or break a campaign. Just remember what happened during the 2006 campaign when former Senator George Allen, a Republican from Virginia, called a young man by a racial slur -- and got caught on tape.

Within a matter of hours, the episode spread through the Internet to Virginia voters, who started asking new questions about Allen's character and leadership. Senator Jim Webb defeated Allen by 8,000 votes -- and the Democratic Party took back the Senate.

That's one example, but we all know that Republican candidates are willing to say anything -- even abandon core beliefs -- to pander to the extreme right wing of their party. You can bet that during the 2008 campaign there will be plenty more examples of this behavior -- not to mention shameless misinformation, outright lies, and blatant fear-mongering.

We'll need every person we can get watching and documenting the 2008 Republican candidates. Join the PartyBuilder rapid response group to do just that.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

4 years down, 46 to go

Dear automat,

According to the White House, Iraq isn't George W. Bush's Vietnam -- it's his Korea.

Last week, Reuters reported that "President George W. Bush would like to see a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to provide stability but not in a frontline combat role. The United States has had thousands of U.S. troops in South Korea to guard against a North Korean invasion for 50 years."

The American people voted last November to end the war in Iraq -- not occupy a country engulfed in civil war for decades. A 50-year plan for Iraq is not a strategy and it's certainly not acceptable. But tonight, as the Republicans square off in their third big presidential debate, you can be sure you'll hear the Republican candidates fall in line with their Commander-in-Chief.

Write a letter to your local newspaper, and let your neighbors know just how out of touch the Republican Party is with your community:

The 2008 presidential hopefuls are already offering their support for the "Korea plan." On Friday, John McCain said:

"We have had troops in South Korea for 60 years and nobody minds...If you stay a long, long time, but have the Iraqis doing the fighting, and your people are back in the bases and away from the firing line, I think Americans would be satisfied."

In the most recent CBS News/New York Times poll, 72 percent of Americans disapproved of President Bush's handling of Iraq. Looking back, 61 percent of Americans believe that the U.S. never should have taken military action against Iraq in the first place.

The American people opposed the escalation. They opposed President Bush's timetable veto. And they oppose a 50-year war.

Now the dozen or so Republican presidential candidates vying for his job want to continue this same failed strategy. We can't let that happen.

Write a letter to your local paper about the Republican Party's plan for failure: